BARD - CORNELL SEVEN: Can They Get a Fair Case With Letitia James as Special Prosecutor?

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

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SPEAKER_2 (0:25)

This is Reasonable Doubt.

Mark Geragos (0:28)

With your hosts, Mark Geragos and Gary Smith.

You know, Gary is not here this week. We're giving up. We're extending summer vacations.

Lauren Conlin (0:39)

This week? I mean, everyone's like, where's Gary? Where's Gary? Because it's been quite a few weeks, I would say.

Mark Geragos (0:47)

Yes, it's been a true crime kind of, I don't know, pile on, so to speak, although that's probably not the appropriate metaphor. But I should tell you that shout out to Awesome Dawson, who is the voiceover. And I think I may have to have him do one that says, subbing this week for Lauren Conlin.

Lauren Conlin (1:08)

I feel like something, no, no. I mean, honestly, Gary, Gary is always such a good sport about this anyway. So he, Gary is fine, he doesn't mind. He doesn't think that I'm taking over or trying to step on any toes. I just wanna, yeah, put that out there.

Mark Geragos (1:25)

And for those who are talk about, you know, we have Brett who does our research, we've got Gary who keeps his finger on the poles and everything else.

This week, Lauren and I did not speak this morning. We just, I finally was able to get my way in. And she said, we didn't talk, but I assume we're doing Cornell. I said, what else is there right now?

Lauren Conlin (1:49)

Correct. Correct. We don't, it's funny. I, yeah, I just said, so, you know, and normally we do, we don't, I hate to say it, but we are always on the same wavelength and we don't have to prep that much, which is nice, but like we did no prep today. And it was like, yes, Cornell, okay, great. I have this, let's go, let's just do it. Because look, there's a lot to be said. I mean, you know, we don't have to get too much into the backstory here because a lot more has developed, but we can. But one thing, Mark, I wanna point out that is concerning just with due process and the law.

And look, I agree that I do think that a new team due to take over over the the Tompkins County DA.

But I don't know if Tish James was the right person after she posted that, quote, we stand with the victim. I think that's very biased. And again, wherever you land on how you feel about this case, hopefully we can all agree that's not that doesn't seem fair right off the bat.

Mark Geragos (2:53)

Well, anybody who's listened to this or talked to me about criminal law knows my feelings about special councils or independent councils. I think that is a perversion of the criminal justice system for a variety of reasons.

If you don't have a mechanism by which you get to recuse a district attorney. But that is usually the most of the mechanisms for recusing a district attorney are basically before the prosecution, not a situation like this. You know, I'm old enough to remember my favorite line. I'm old enough to remember Jesse Smollett, which our office handle. And we handled the case. It was dismissed by the then prosecutor because of the public outcry in uproar. A special council was appointed and that special council got a conviction. And I said at the time and we argued it at the Supreme Court, that was once in jeopardy and guess what? Unanimous, I believe, Illinois Supreme Court agreed and was dismissed.

It doesn't ever turn out well. I started my career with Whitewater and an independent council there, going after Susan McDougal in the 90s, probably before Warren was even born.

Lauren Conlin (4:20)

Well, I was born in the 80s, thank you very much.

Mark Geragos (4:24)

I started there. I had the same complaints there.

Trump had the same complaints about Jack Smith, who's been in the leaders in the last week. This idea of getting a prosecutor to react to the uproar or the crowd, just never sits well with me, and your point is even better. Now, you're going to have everybody say the exact same thing, which is she came in with a predisposition, and therefore, everything she does, it's not going to have the effect that I think Governor Hokel wanted. Governor Hokel wanted, I'm appalled at what happened, blah, blah, blah, and maybe that's where we start, because I think you've got a clip of the college president.